Sunday, January 21
Morgantown, W.Va.
2:00 PM
West Virginia University
vs
George Washington
No. 18 Mountaineers Set for Pink Meet
January 20, 2018 11:54 AM | Gymnastics
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 18-ranked West Virginia University closes its season-opening homestand at the WVU Coliseum with the Wendy M. Roach Pink Meet Invitational on Sunday, Jan. 21, at 2 p.m.
It is the Mountaineers' (0-2) first tri-meet of the season, and the squad will compete against local foes George Washington (4-2) and Towson (2-3, 0-1 EAGL).
Tickets will be available for purchase Sunday at the Coliseum Gold Gate for $3 for all fans who wear pink to support breast cancer awareness. Tickets also are available for $2 for groups of 10 or more, and WVU students are admitted free with a valid WVU Student I.D.
The first 1,000 fans on Sunday will receive a pink shaker, courtesy of WVU Medicine, and pink WVU Medicine t-shirts also will be available for minimum donation of $10. Additionally, the Mountaineers again will collect sundry items, such as socks, body lotion, nail polish and magazines, for donation to Morgantown's Betty Puskar Breast Care Center.
To provide a safer environment for Mountaineer fans and to expedite entry into all ticketed WVU athletic events, the West Virginia Department of Intercollegiate Athletics enforces the NFL's Clear Bag Policy. The athletic department invites and encourages fans to visit WVUsports.com/clearbag for more information, to view pictures of permissible and non-permissible items and to obtain answers to frequently asked questions about the clear bag policy.
The Mountaineers enter Sunday looking for their first wins of the season. Last week, WVU improved upon its season-opening score by 1.45 points en route to a season-high 195.875 showing against No. 14 Arizona State (196.475) on Jan. 14.
"I liked that we had a little more depth after our first meet when we had to shuffle around some lineups unexpectedly," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "We came back in the gym and found that depth. The scores take care of themselves, but we can control how we fight. That's our main thing – you fight all the way through.
"I want to see better landings this week. We're still hopping landings. If we get those tenths back, we'll be looking at a 196.0. We have to stick everything and hit 24-for-24. I want us to be more comfortable within our routines and squeeze those extra tenths out of our events."
The Mountaineers are 46-4 all-time against the Colonials, a former foe in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL). The teams met twice in 2017, and GW earned the regular-season victory, defeating WVU, 196.375-195.8, on March 5, at the WVU Coliseum. In the second meeting, the fifth-seeded Mountaineers (196.325) topped the fourth-seeded Colonials (195.625) at the 2017 NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships, on April 1, at the WVU Coliseum.
WVU and Towson met three times in 2017, with each team earning a victory in its home gym. The Mountaineers earned the neutral-site win, defeating the Tigers, 195.7-194.4, at Pitt on March 3. WVU is 22-11 all-time against Towson.
The Mountaineers are nationally ranked on bars (48.825) and beam (48.838) this week. Junior Kirah Koshinski ranks No. 13 on vault with a 9.875 season average, while senior Zaakira Muhammad ranks No. 31 in the all-around with a 39.1 average.
Koshinski and Muhammad paced WVU on two events last week against ASU. Koshinski scored the highest mark earned by a WVU gymnast this season and won vault outright with a 9.9, while Muhammad tied for second on beam with a career-high matching 9.875. Additionally, junior Jaquie Tun tied for second on bars with a 9.85, and freshman McKenna Linnen scored a career-best 9.85 to tie for third place on floor. Muhammad finished second in the all-around with a 39.35 total.
The Colonials won each team event, scoring 49.175 on vault, 48.425 on bars, 48.95 on beam and 48.775 on floor. Senior Jillian Winstanley, the reigning EAGL Gymnast of the Week, finished first overall last week with a 39.425 showing. Included in her day was a first place, career-high matching 9.9 on beam.
The Tigers scored 194.725 and earned their first wins of the season on Jan. 14, at the SECU Arena in Towson, Maryland. Senior Tyra McKellar led the way for Towson in its last meet, winning vault (9.8), bars (9.825) and the all-around (39.15).
It is the Mountaineers' (0-2) first tri-meet of the season, and the squad will compete against local foes George Washington (4-2) and Towson (2-3, 0-1 EAGL).
Tickets will be available for purchase Sunday at the Coliseum Gold Gate for $3 for all fans who wear pink to support breast cancer awareness. Tickets also are available for $2 for groups of 10 or more, and WVU students are admitted free with a valid WVU Student I.D.
The first 1,000 fans on Sunday will receive a pink shaker, courtesy of WVU Medicine, and pink WVU Medicine t-shirts also will be available for minimum donation of $10. Additionally, the Mountaineers again will collect sundry items, such as socks, body lotion, nail polish and magazines, for donation to Morgantown's Betty Puskar Breast Care Center.
To provide a safer environment for Mountaineer fans and to expedite entry into all ticketed WVU athletic events, the West Virginia Department of Intercollegiate Athletics enforces the NFL's Clear Bag Policy. The athletic department invites and encourages fans to visit WVUsports.com/clearbag for more information, to view pictures of permissible and non-permissible items and to obtain answers to frequently asked questions about the clear bag policy.
The Mountaineers enter Sunday looking for their first wins of the season. Last week, WVU improved upon its season-opening score by 1.45 points en route to a season-high 195.875 showing against No. 14 Arizona State (196.475) on Jan. 14.
"I liked that we had a little more depth after our first meet when we had to shuffle around some lineups unexpectedly," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "We came back in the gym and found that depth. The scores take care of themselves, but we can control how we fight. That's our main thing – you fight all the way through.
"I want to see better landings this week. We're still hopping landings. If we get those tenths back, we'll be looking at a 196.0. We have to stick everything and hit 24-for-24. I want us to be more comfortable within our routines and squeeze those extra tenths out of our events."
The Mountaineers are 46-4 all-time against the Colonials, a former foe in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL). The teams met twice in 2017, and GW earned the regular-season victory, defeating WVU, 196.375-195.8, on March 5, at the WVU Coliseum. In the second meeting, the fifth-seeded Mountaineers (196.325) topped the fourth-seeded Colonials (195.625) at the 2017 NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships, on April 1, at the WVU Coliseum.
WVU and Towson met three times in 2017, with each team earning a victory in its home gym. The Mountaineers earned the neutral-site win, defeating the Tigers, 195.7-194.4, at Pitt on March 3. WVU is 22-11 all-time against Towson.
The Mountaineers are nationally ranked on bars (48.825) and beam (48.838) this week. Junior Kirah Koshinski ranks No. 13 on vault with a 9.875 season average, while senior Zaakira Muhammad ranks No. 31 in the all-around with a 39.1 average.
Koshinski and Muhammad paced WVU on two events last week against ASU. Koshinski scored the highest mark earned by a WVU gymnast this season and won vault outright with a 9.9, while Muhammad tied for second on beam with a career-high matching 9.875. Additionally, junior Jaquie Tun tied for second on bars with a 9.85, and freshman McKenna Linnen scored a career-best 9.85 to tie for third place on floor. Muhammad finished second in the all-around with a 39.35 total.
The Colonials won each team event, scoring 49.175 on vault, 48.425 on bars, 48.95 on beam and 48.775 on floor. Senior Jillian Winstanley, the reigning EAGL Gymnast of the Week, finished first overall last week with a 39.425 showing. Included in her day was a first place, career-high matching 9.9 on beam.
The Tigers scored 194.725 and earned their first wins of the season on Jan. 14, at the SECU Arena in Towson, Maryland. Senior Tyra McKellar led the way for Towson in its last meet, winning vault (9.8), bars (9.825) and the all-around (39.15).
Players Mentioned
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ GymnasticsAssistant Coach Kaylyn Millick | Intro
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Assistant Coach Jessica Yamzon | Intro
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Associate Head Coach Travis Doak | Intro
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Head Coach Jason Butts | Intro
Tuesday, September 09
